We dive headfirst into Jake Gyllenhaal's trippy new sci-fi flick.
By Eric Ditzian
Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal in "Source Code"
Photo: Summit Entertainment
Duncan Jones pulled off a nifty feat for his first cinematic trick: He took the all-too-often-banal sci-fi genre and infused it with new life, at the same time paying homage to past classics. "Moon" was a revelation, one made all the more impressive because it was Jones' feature debut. Not only did he spin an inventive tale — about a solitary man, played by Sam Rockwell, working on a lunar base when very strange things start to happen — but he did so for just a couple million dollars. Oh, and he coaxed out perhaps the finest performance of Rockwell's career.
Where would Jones go from there? Straight back into sci-fi land, it turned out, this time with a bigger budget and one of the biggest Hollywood stars in Jake Gyllenhaal. "Source Code" arrived in theaters Friday (April 1), and it's a doozy, but we expected nothing less from Jones. In fact, we've been eagerly expecting the movie since word of the project first popped up in November 2009. Before hitting the theater, read on for everything you need to know about "Source Code."
Foundations
The movie's plotline was immediately intriguing. Gyllenhaal plays a helicopter pilot named Captain Colter Stevens, who inexplicably awakens in the body of a commuter on a train and has no idea how he got there. Eight minutes later, the train explodes. Gradually, Stevens learns he's part of a government program called Source Code that allows him to travel back into the past again and again — a past he can't change — to find out who blew up the train and hopefully prevent the next terrorist attack.
After Gyllenhaal signed on at the end of '09, he was followed the next year by Jeffrey Wright as the brains behind the program, Vera Farmiga as his fellow military employee and Michelle Monaghan as a woman Stevens meets on the train. Shooting began in March 2010, but when we caught up with Farmiga at the Oscars, she couldn't tell us much about the production.
"I'll tell you why," she explained. "Because I haven't wrapped my head around it myself and I'm going to sound like an utter idiot trying to explain it to you. It's a pretty complicated plot — with all due respect to Duncan Jones. I'm sure Duncan is not proud of me in this moment."
Introductions
We didn't hear much about "Source Code" until the end of the year, when the first trailer arrived. The footage delivered a vibe that mixed "Déjà Vu" and "12 Monkeys"-style sci-fi with a high concept reminiscent of "Groundhog Day." But there also seemed something unique in the works. Our only complaint was the trailer seemed to give too much away. To a lesser extent, that's how we felt about a second trailer too.
In a weird way, the movie's first five minutes, which were recently posted online, revealed far less than either of the trailers or the exclusive clips we ran earlier this month. But not much could diminish our enthusiasm for "Source Code"; there was a reason we named it one of our most anticipated films of 2011.
Revelations
We weren't the only ones immediately drawn into the film's central conceit. "I was just fascinated with the idea, the concept of what the Source Code was because it felt like the center of the movie is this computer program," Gyllenhaal told MTV News recently. "So I thought, 'Well, does this hold water?' And then I thought, 'It does because it's a computer program that allows somebody to go into the body of another person for the last eight minutes of their life.' Had it been a computer program that allows somebody to go into somebody else's body, just anybody's body, it wouldn't be interesting, but this plays on the usurping of the electromagnetic impulses in the brain right before somebody dies."
Fascinating stuff to be sure, but handled poorly, the idea could come off as some third-rate SyFy cheesefest. Instead, in the hands of Jones and writer Ben Ripley, it turned out to be a winner.
"There are some heady ideas here," Jones explained to us, "and I think [Ripley's] done a really good job of balancing what the audience needs to know and giving the audience enough rules that if you just invite them to take a leap of faith you'll go with it and you can enjoy the ride."
Check out everything we've got on "Source Code."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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Benefit album is now on iTunes, with proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
By James Montgomery
Songs For Japan Cover Art
Photo: EMI Music Group
On Monday, we learned the names of some of the stars set to appear on Songs For Japan, a compilation album to benefit the ongoing disaster relief efforts in the earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged nation. And on Friday (March 25), not only was the full roster of artists and songs revealed, but the album was made available for purchase on iTunes.
Lady Gaga, Eminem, Beyoncé, Madonna, the Kings of Leon and Katy Perry joined a list of already-announced artists like Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna on the album, which is available worldwide on the iTunes Store for $9.99. Proceeds from the sale of Songs for Japan will benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society.
All in all, 38 artists lent songs to the album, including legends like Bob Dylan, U2, Bruce Springsteen and the late John Lennon; country acts like Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum; rock artists like the Foo Fighters, R.E.M. and Bon Jovi; pop icons like Madonna and Pink; and top hitmakers like Bruno Mars and David Guetta.
All acts appearing on Songs for Japan — and their labels and music publishers — have waived their royalties and proceeds from the worldwide sales of the album to insure the Japanese Red Cross Society receives as much support as possible. The JRCS will use funds from the album to support its ongoing relief efforts and for eventual recovery assistance to the areas hardest hit by the earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. iTunes will also donate its proceeds from the album's worldwide sales to the benefit of the JRCS.
The track list for Songs for Japan, according to Apple:
1. John Lennon, "Imagine"
2. U2, "Walk On"
3. Bob Dylan, "Shelter From the Storm"
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Around the World"
5. Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"
6. Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable"
7. Bruno Mars, "Talking to the Moon"
8. Katy Perry, "Firework"
9. Rihanna, "Only Girl (In the World)"
10. Justin Timberlake, "Like I Love You"
11. Madonna, "Miles Away"
12. David Guetta, "When Love Takes Over"
13. Eminem (featuring Rihanna), "Love the Way You Lie"
14. Bruce Springsteen, "Human Touch"
15. Josh Groban, "Awake"
16. Keith Urban, "Better Life"
17. Black Eyed Peas, "One Tribe"
18. Pink, "Sober"
19. Cee Lo Green, "It's OK"
20. Lady Antebellum, "I Run to You"
21. Bon Jovi, "What Do You Got?"
22. Foo Fighters, "My Hero"
23. R.E.M., "Man on the Moon"
24. Nicki Minaj, "Save Me"
25. Sade, "By Your Side"
26. Michael Bublé, "Hold On"
27. Justin Bieber, "Pray"
28. Adele, "Make You Feel My Love"
29. Enya, "If I Could Be Where You Are"
30. Elton John, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
31. John Mayer, "Waiting on the World to Change"
32. Queen, "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)"
33. Kings of Leon, "Use Somebody"
34. Sting, "Fragile"
35. Leona Lewis, "Better in Time"
36. Ne-Yo, "One in a Million"
37. Shakira, "Whenever, Wherever"
38. Norah Jones, "Sunrise"
Will you download the benefit album? Let us know in the comments!
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'It's an honor to write for one of pop music's biggest icons,' she tells MTV News.
By Kelley L. Carter, with additional reporting by Jocelyn Vena
Britney Spears "Til The World Ends" cover art
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Britney Spears' new single, "Till the World Ends" is dance-floor ready — just ask Ke$ha. The pop star in her own right wrote the just-released track, which was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin.
"I consider myself a songwriter before and above everything else, so it's an honor to write for one of pop music's biggest icons. And I hope it gets everyone's ass on the dance floor cuz y'all know that's what K-Monay does best!" the singer said in an exclusive statement to MTV News.
The single was posted by Perez Hilton on Thursday afternoon (March 3), after speculation earlier in the day that it would hit radio next week.
"Till the World Ends" is a swirling, "beat the beat" track, ready for late nights spent "dancing till the world ends" as she sings on the fast-paced party jam. "This kitten got your tongue tied in knots I see/ Spit it out 'cause I'm dying for company," a confident Spears purrs.
Later in the song, she sings: "See the sunlight/ We ain't stopping/ Keep on dancing till the world ends/ If you feel it/ Let it happen/ Keep on dancing till the world ends."
Last month, Ke$ha talked with Spin.com about the song, saying it's about the power of an artist performing a great gig. "That song is me imagining her and any female musician touring the world," she said. "You know, when you go out, and you're having an amazing, magical night and you don't want to go to sleep and you want it to last until the world ends."
This new track is the latest single from Spears' forthcoming Femme Fatale, which drops March 29.
What do you think about the latest Britney song? Let us know in the comments!
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Producer says he was 'in NYC tryin' to make tracks' for B and Bells' songwriter/guitarist.
By James Montgomery
Beyonce
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ WireImage
Over the years, Diplo has worked with everyone from Thom Yorke to Spank Rock (and, of course, M.I.A.) so perhaps it should come as no surprise that, for his next collaboration, he's chosen to work with none other than Beyoncé. Oh, and electro-slammers Sleigh Bells, too. It all makes sense, in some bizarre way.
This is according to Dip himself, who posted a message — and a remix of the Sleigh Bells track "Tell 'Em" — on his blog, in which he let it be known that he, his production partner Switch and Sleigh Bells' songwriter/guitarist Derek Miller just wrapped sessions for Beyoncé's follow-up to I Am ... Sasha Fierce. He wasn't quite sure what would come of the tracks they created.
"Me and Switch was in [the] studio in NYC tryin' to make tracks with Derek and Beyoncé last week after we played her team [Sleigh Bells'] album," Diplo wrote. "Dunno if we gonna manage to finish, but [it] was good times."
At the very least, you know Bey's husband, indie-rock fan Jay-Z, is pumped by the news. Diplo is just the latest in an ever-growing list of top-flight producers who have worked with Beyoncé in recent months. There's still no release date or tentative title for her upcoming album, but she's logged studio time with the likes of S1 (he of "Power" fame), Ne-Yo, Sean Garrett and Jim Jonsin.
A spokesperson for Beyoncé did not respond to MTV News' request for comment on the Diplo tracks by press time.
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'Arthur' star believes, 'There's bound to be some extraterrestrials.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
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Photo: Steve Granitz/ Getty Images
In her latest visual creation, Katy Perry takes fans to outer space as an alien looking for her lover in "E.T." The pop princess dons crazy makeup and several artfully designed costumes as she cascades to another planet to meet her fallen love. Her real-life love, Russell Brand, revealed his favorite look to MTV News.
"I like it when she's that weird one in the beginning all made out of plastic," he said at CinemaCon in Las Vegas about Perry's flashy, spacey Floria Sigismondi-directed video, which dropped Thursday.
Stylist Carol Beadle explained to MTV News what she had in mind when she was thinking up looks for the trippy clip. "I was looking at jelly fishes and amoebas; those words were constantly used, and we wanted it to look like a flash of an amoeba and then it coming to life," she said.
Brand's alien love certainly doesn't begin and end with Perry's video. The "Arthur" star is an avid believer in all things extraterrestrial. "I happen to believe there is such a thing as extraterrestrials, and that needn't necessarily make me a crackpot," he confessed. "There probably are [aliens]. The universe is infinite: There's bound to be some extraterrestrials. Let's not worry about it."
In fact, Brand and his lady love aliens so much, they have a romantic trip planned to visit outer space. "I'm so into extraterrestrial stuff," Perry explained.
"It's very difficult for me to look up into the sky in the middle of the night and not think that our planet is one of ... a bajillion. It's really, really small. And Russell and I are interested in anything extraterrestrial. I mean, we're going to space!"
What is your favorite look in the "E.T." video? Tell us below!
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